Writer and long-time marathon runner Ray Charbonneau of Arlington spoke about a collection of writings to benefit the family members of those killed in last yearís Boston Marathon bombings at the Tewksbury Public Library last week.

The new book, "The 27th Mile: Going the Extra Mile to Support the Victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing," is an anthology of short stories, articles and other works of writing, including poetry, by authors who are runners and writers.

A portion of the funds from each sale of the book will go towards supporting The One Fund, which assists those injured and the families of those killed in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Charbonneau said.

"I wanted to do something to help the victims and help the One Fund," he said of why he undertook the project. "One of the things I do is write and publish my own books and Iíve helped others publish theirs. Today you can publish a book with little upfront cost if you want to do the work yourself."

Charbonneau, who said he has run approximately 25 marathons in a variety of states and knows many runners, reached out to people he knew to seek contributions for the book. Contributors include popular thriller writer Lawrence Block, Katherine Switzer Ė the first woman to officially run in the Boston Marathon and Amby Burfoot, who won the 1968 Boston Marathon.

"It turns out I knew enough people who were happy to contribute and had something good to contribute," he said. "I put the book together and had people work on the cover and help with copy editing. Itís something Iím quite proud of."

The contributions come in a variety of forms and all follow the theme of running, Charbonneau said. While some are about the Boston Marathon bombings, not all of the pieces pertain to the tragedy. Blockís piece, for example, is a story featuring a funny memory of needing to find a place to relieve himself while running a marathon in Alaska, balancing the needs to find privacy versus avoiding becoming bear food while walking off the path.

"I didnít want the book to only be about the bombing," Charbonneau said. "I wanted parts that were more pleasant to read."

Charbonneau was running in the 2013 Boston Marathon as a volunteer with the Massachusetts Association for the Blind. He ran the race tethered to a man named Mike who had a limited field of vision.

Charbonneau said he wasnít originally planning to run in last yearís Boston Marathon until he became a guide. During the race the pair was making good time, despite some difficulty at Heartbreak Hill, and during the race realized they could possibly break a four-hour time. Fortunately they pushed through and finished the race at 3:58:47. Seven minutes after they crossed the finish line the first bomb went off.

Page 2 of 2 - "We were huddled together with other racers when suddenly there was an explosion," he said while reading an essay of his own in the book. "We couldnít see what was going on. We thought a manhole cover or a transformer exploded."

Charbonneau said it wasnít until they were walking away from the finish line trying to get back to where Mikeís items were stored that they heard the news that the explosion was an intentional bombing. He and Mike spent much of the rest of the day working through the crowds to get Mikeís belongings so he could catch a plane back home to Texas.

Despite last yearís incident, Charbonneau said it is important to him to run in the 2014 Boston Marathon.

"For me itís important to run, and I know this sounds like a clichť, because I donít want the terrorists to win," he said. "I was going to run anyhow and Iím going to keep running."

Charbonneau added that while he understands the focus this year is on remembering the bombings and the victims, he would prefer the day be just another race.

"In my ideal world it would be just another Boston Marathon this year," he said. "We wouldnít forget what happened or ignore what happened but we wouldnít let it change anything either. We are there to run and will be there again this year."

Anyone interested in learning more about the book or purchasing a copy can visit Charbonneauís website at y42k.com.